In "Everything is Still Happening," Lisa Bulawsky reimagines discarded pieces from her previous works

Lisa Bulawsky’s solo exhibition at Bruno David Gallery, Everything is Still Happening, features her ongoing series, NP-C (amor-fati). In these works on paper, she combines hand-printed collage on inkjet prints made from scanned newsprint backing sheets.

Portraying serendipitous residues like swaths of color rolled on with a brayer or crinkles in a throw-away sheet of paper, these reference the artist’s printmaking practice by reproducing moments that are essential processes but are usually discarded.

Inspired by these accidental marks, Bulawsky collages materials cultivated from her previous works, resulting in a purposely disjunctive series; sparse compositions have isolated passages of clutter, and abstraction is paired with imagery. Methodically cut out shapes and delicate incisions create nuanced, layered surfaces that entice viewers forward for closer inspection, divulging a phrase or image that brings us back from these formal reveries and back to reality.

For instance, "NP-C020_abstract_orange_dots," as the title suggests, can be appreciated for its formalism but is suggestive of other interpretations. Divided into two sections, the composition’s left third is comprised of thin, vertical slats of primary colors, olive green, and black; a hole partially reveals the word, “AMERICA” upside-down. The choice of this noun, and that it is turned on its head, is significant considering the current administration driven by resentment and in which xenophobia and nativism are becoming increasingly normalized. The rest of the composition is occupied by an earthy pink square with several black holes and looks like an adobe wall pockmarked with bullets.

"NP-C017_newsprint10" (pictured above) depicts two headless, shirtless men wearing orange-brown breeches with fists raised, ready to spar. A vortex of cartoonish flower shapes separate them, and within this bustle’s void are a group of blank picket signs. The only text in the entire composition is the phrase, “WE MOURN,” diminutively scaled and tucked away along the left, away from the focal scene in the center; again we are brought back to the reality of frustration—protests and mourning in the face of political indifference.

Some pieces, however, are lighthearted; all share a sense of play in terms of shape, color, composition, and material explorations. In one, a lap dog is surrounded by concentric rings of candy colored fragments. In another, a large globular drip is transfixed in a vertical, red rectangle to the right of which multiple eyes gaze listlessly from a doodled cloud.

By appropriating and reconfiguring previous works, Bulawsky mediates complex histories in new orientations, creating enigmatic narratives. Everything is Still Happening contains moments that require us to slow down, and NP-C (amor-fati) encourages us to find clues that jolt us out of complacency and see current and past events in new ways.

The Latin phrase amor-fati translates as “love of fate.” It indicates a philosophy characterized by accepting events or situations that occur in life. In this light, Bulawsky’s work feels cathartic, for her and her audience. Overall, this series is not only a record of Bulawsky’s studio activities, but also a reflection of what has been happening outside her studio—in St. Louis and beyond—for the past three years.